About

Tropaion is a web-log / electronic journal and Carnival for the ancient Greek Religion and history. The main goal of the web-log is to present original peer-reviewed and well referred posts on theoretical and practical aspects of the ancient Greek religion, to add to a broader circulation of Humanities and Classics in the Internet as well as to rise awareness for the Hellenic Polytheism today and to explore its relation with its ancient past.

Yesterday I read a marvelous article on the Sundays' To Bima Tis Kyriakis Supplement entitle Nees Epoxes a Greek well-known newspaper. The article written by Michael A. Tiberious, Professor of Classical Archeology (Arestotelian University of Thessaloníki) discuss the possible similarities of the Christian hymns of the birth of Christ and the Hymn to Dictaean Zeus. The article entitled The birth of Christ and the birth of Zeus: An anthem to the highest god of the Greeks reveals similarities with respective wishes of the Orthodox Church's 'Eirinikon' (p. B43, available here in Greek) points out, also, the Christian driven destruction of the Dictaean Zeus' shrine and temple at today's Palaikastro.It is indeed interesting to read an academic based articles in well-known newspapers in Greece written by Professors that clearly stating 'plagiarism' and even an intentional destruction of 'pagan' cults in the Greek world by the Christians after their formalization as the Imperial religion. Tiberious states that:

But the most important thing was a finding of tracks of an inscription carved on black stone found scattered at various points in the surrounding area. The text of the inscription - fortunately only a few parts were not identified - is a National Anthem for the Dectaean Zeus. Perhaps the fragmentation of this great religious text was deliberate during the first centuries of the introduction of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, which at the end of the 4th and 5th century AD. It is the era that often an excessive fanaticism existed against the religion and old divinities.

And he continues:

The disaster not only came to the fragmentation of this sacred text but probably led at the full demolition of the temple.

'Eirinikon' is a part of the Saint John Chrisostomou of the Orthodox Church in which according to Tiberious can been seen a number of copies and similarities from the Dictaean Zeus' Hymn. But it is not just the 'Eirinkon' but also the New Year's Eve hymns - liturgy of the Basil the Great - in the Orthodox Church that copies the Dictaean hymn.

They have already noted the striking similarities with the above that appeals to the respective wishes of the 'Eirinikon' of the Greek Church, while Nicholas I. Papadakis drew our attention upon the obvious similarities between the anthem and hymns from the liturgy of the Basil the Great which will be heard at the New Year's Eve in Churches.